Discussion: View Thread

  • 1.  Quality Measurement Systems

    Posted 04-08-2002 20:06
    From: Conna Condon [mailto:gandolf@cyberverse.com]

    Quality Management Educators.

    I am on a search for a good textbook ... or textbooks ... or sections
    thereof. The course is a masters level executive overview perspective
    of
    the various quality measurement systems. It is a practitioner oriented
    course.

    The text(s) should address at a minimum: ISO9000 (the new 2000
    version);
    SEI Capability Maturity Model; "Six Sigma;"

    Course outcomes will include:
    Understanding the corporate impact of accepting a contract that requires
    certification in each quality system surveyed
    Understanding the advantages/disadvantages and applicability of each
    system
    surveyed.
    Understanding the issues of managing a business that must maintain
    certification in multiple quality standards.

    If any of you are aware of any other major quality standard (Malcolm
    Baldrige is typically an award vs. a standard, but might be applicable),
    I'd
    like to know of that and texts that cover it.

    Thanks

    Conna Condon
    DBA candidate


  • 2.  Quality Measurement Systems

    Posted 04-08-2002 23:58
    1) You've got the distinction between Baldrige & the others down
    nicely. Thanks.

    2) Medical delivery systems, for ex., hospitals & out patient clinics,
    have a number of certification systems & bodies to audit/inspect for
    compliance. I've no specific names, sorry. there are also ASME, ASTM, and
    similar groups for things like pressure vessel construction, but that is a
    tangent, perhaps. The SEI Capability Maturity Model applies to software,
    true? the ISO17025 standard (now being revised) applies to calibration and
    measurement work, and is related to the ISO9000 standard. the American
    automotive 'big 2.5' are trying to shift from QS9000, an expansion of
    ISO9000:1994, to a new number entirely. There are some XX9000 standards
    for aerospace and perhaps electronics manufacturers, too.

    3) The 6-S Academy is up to an auditable 'standard'? What is the world
    coming to!? :)

    4) As far as a single text to cover these, I doubt it. I'm mostly
    familiar with the 'how-to' types, and each carefully covers only one at a
    time. True comparisons between them tend to be slanted to suit the biases
    of the author. Of course, my opinions are completely free of bias. :)

    5) the purpose for adopting a specific standard should be discussed
    early on. The purposes of the 3 you mentioned are quite different, best I
    can tell. Some industrial customers are trying to require their suppliers
    to 'get 6-S certified,' in the same way some customers require ISO9000
    certification, but after that things diverge sharply. Don't forget:
    ISO9000 does not give you assurance of lots of Quality - it only assures
    that you know how much Quality you have. (the ISO9000:2000 also requires
    that you check up on the customer opinions, too.) At the risk of inciting
    riot from Phoenix, I'd say that 6-S assures that you learn how to make more
    Quality.

    6) ISO9000 and I believe 6-S are not 'Quality systems' in themselves.
    If you change the term 'quality system' to 'operations system' the
    difference should become more evident. If you want a real Quality (or
    operations) system, some people feel you have to go back to Feigenbaum, or
    Juran. My own preference is to look carefully at what the company is
    doing. then map out some material and information flows. then build in
    proper feedback, corrective/preventive action, etc. Difficult to
    generalize, I agree, but the resultant system is complete, and fits the
    firm in question. However, you didn't ask about Quality Systems, so maybe
    the lack doesn't matter.

    7) Cheers and good luck with this. A lot of managers could use a clear,
    and clean, view of all these things.

    Jay

    Charles Wankel wrote:

    > From: Conna Condon [mailto:gandolf@cyberverse.com]
    >
    > Quality Management Educators.
    >
    > I am on a search for a good textbook ... or textbooks ... or sections
    > thereof. The course is a masters level executive overview perspective
    > of
    > the various quality measurement systems. It is a practitioner oriented
    > course.
    >
    > The text(s) should address at a minimum: ISO9000 (the new 2000
    > version);
    > SEI Capability Maturity Model; "Six Sigma;"
    >
    > Course outcomes will include:
    > Understanding the corporate impact of accepting a contract that requires
    > certification in each quality system surveyed
    > Understanding the advantages/disadvantages and applicability of each
    > system
    > surveyed.
    > Understanding the issues of managing a business that must maintain
    > certification in multiple quality standards.
    >
    > If any of you are aware of any other major quality standard (Malcolm
    > Baldrige is typically an award vs. a standard, but might be applicable),
    > I'd
    > like to know of that and texts that cover it.
    >
    > Thanks
    >
    > Conna Condon
    > DBA candidate

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    Principal Scientist
    Warner Consulting, Inc.
    4444 North Green Bay Road
    Racine, WI 53404-1216
    USA

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